Cultus
Teaching English to foreigners who don’t speak it as a first language is increasingly gaining momentum around the world.
Chinese and Indian parents are pushing for better quality English teachers to teach their kids. ESL or English as a Second Language, has become a sought after asset in the modern globalised economy.
It comes as no surprise then, that there is a professional course aspiring teachers can take to prove their English proficiency and to then travel abroad to teach in countries with adequate demand.
TESOL or Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, is a professional organisation that helps such teachers kickstart their career.
Although the organisation was founded in the United States, the course is offered online for anyone who wants to sign up. There are, of course, some basic requirements each candidate must meet before they can get started with the TESOL certification online. Here is what you need:
- Professional Requirements
A frequently asked question is whether you need any prior experience teaching English to be able to enter the course. For an online certification, this is not the case. You will need an undergraduate degree with a 2:1 or international equivalent in any subject that could be considered relevant to teaching English. However, alternative qualifications will also be considered.
- TESOL Focus Courses
Usually, TESOL courses consist of 150 hours of training and this can all be provided online. The course focuses on second language teaching and learning, grammar, pronunciation, discourse analysis, second language acquisition, classroom management, classroom research, classroom-based evaluation, second language curriculum development, research methods in language learning and research portfolio.
- Technology in Education
The TESOL organisation has a well defined framework for the ways technology can be sued in education. The organisation believes that technology will never be fully sufficient to replace teachers altogether, but will in fact help teachers teach better and more effectively. The standards are outlined in the handbook and push for deep integration of technology into everyday classroom activities since it can help promote not just language skills but also tech savvy. The framework pushes for integration to ensure the teacher is sufficiently aided in the classroom and the students learn real-life skills. English must be used online and not just while reading or writing, as per the organization.
- Technology Integration
Like with other parts of our lives, technology has the potential to transform the way we learn. Bloomberg recently reported on the need for coding lessons and how Chinese parents were preparing their kids for a future where coding and English language skills will be paramount. The need for tech in the classroom is evident from the way students have adopted consumer tech in their day to day activities.
The TESOL organisation understands this need and has made attempts to equip teachers and candidates with the tools needed to deal with student demands in the modern classroom and help them develop the skills to the best of their ability.
About the author:
Sunny Popali is working for UNI-Prep Institute. UNI-Prep is an institute offering courses in TESOL teacher training, business and management. Courses are offered online and in-class.